Just Okay · 10 January 2026
Being just okay is okay.
Apparently, I think that all the movies and shows we watch are just okay. Not great. Not good. Just okay. Which is… Well… Which is okay.
Think about it. Not everything can be great. Not everything can be fantastic. But not everything can be horrible either. That is just the nature of everything. In fact, most everything is average. Mediocre. Just okay.
I think that we place too much emphasis on being the best. After all, if most things are average, then that means that we, by definitiion, cannot be the best. At least not at everything. Probably not at most things. But maybe… Just maybe, we can be the best at something. Which would be nice. To be the best at one thing. Or even near the best at one thing would be good. It would even be great.
Now, I am not saying that we should all strive to be just okay. That we should strive to be mediocre. (After all, there is just one MediocreMan.) No. I think we should strive to be the greatest. At least the greatest that we can be. We should strive to create great things. Do great things. Be great beings. But striving for greatness should not get in the way of actually creating things, doing things, being beings.
And it should not get in the way of completing things. After all, something that is not complete is definitely not as good as something that is complete but just okay. I will take something that is just okay and complete over something that is not finished.
I do not remember the saying (and I do not want to look it up), but there is one that says that greatness sometimes stands in the way of goodness. Or something like that. I think it means that we strive for perfection but give up because we know we cannot attain it. (Okay, I looked it up. Perfect is the enemy of good. That quote (attributed to Voltaire) is at least one of the sayings about good enough.) So while we can strive for perfection, we need to know when something is complete. When it is good enough.
I have one more thought about just okay.
I do not remember where I heard it, but I like the notion of being discontentedly content. Or maybe it is contentedly discontent. Either way, it works. I strive to be content where I am at as a person. At everything I do. And yet even as I am content, I know that I am not there yet. I am not where I want to be. I have work to do. So I am a little discontent at where I am. Which might sound crazy, but it is a great attitude to have. I know I am not where I want to be, yet I am content to be where I am. I am discontentedly content. Or contentedly discontent. Either way. When it comes down to it, I am just okay. And that is okay.
Which is where I started. I know that I am not a movie or TV show, but like most of them, I am just okay. And I am okay with that.
© 2026 Michael T. Miyoshi
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